Why Do Nipples Get Hard in the Cold?

It’s a simple science question. Its not because of anything sexual, as many people believe, leading to many awkward circumstances. When nipples get hard because it is cold outside, the body is just trying to preserve heat. By contracting the skin areas, the body can shrink the body’s surface area, which will decrease the overall surface area, and thus the amount of heat that can escape. There are other parts of the body that contract as well, but they just aren’t as noticeable. Goosebumps are actually the same thing, the body just contracting areas of the skin to preserve heat from escaping.

Nipples are part of the skin that protrudes outwards from the breasts, on the ventral, or chest to underbelly area of the body, and are found on all mammals The purpose is to produce milk from the mammary glands inside the breasts for offspring to drink while still infants or juveniles. They are also used as points of attraction in humans. There are 15-20 ducts for lactation arranged in a circle at the point of the nipple.

When cold air hits the nipple, it contracts as a reflex, making the nipple much smaller and thus firmer or ‘hard., Many people think that it is a sign of sexual attraction, but it is not linked to any sort of sexual feeling, and is only used to make it easier to maintain what is called homeostasis, or the ‘normals, of the body, in this case, the body’s temperature. There is a certain amount of energy used per unit of time to keep the body temperature totally constant, without dropping, as well as other vital processes. This is very important to keep. The contraction results in a decrease of surface area where body heat can escape, so the whole reflex is simply a movement to preserve energy.